2 club length on winter tee mat
It really depends on how the Committee wish for the mats to be used. If the Committee do not specify how the mats are to be used then players will still have their two club-lengths from the front of the tee markers.
It is permissible to make a Local Rule requiring players to play from tee mats. This is commonplace in winter when clubs wish to protect the teeing area but the same principle could be applied to the teeing areas that are being renovated.
Although a mat may not provide a teeing area that is two club-lengths in depth, the point of using the mat is to protect the teeing area at times when the conditions merit consideration. Allowing the player to stand or play from outside of the mat is really defeating the purpose of using the mat in the first place. As a result, it would be recommended that the Committee clarify by Local Rule that the mats must be used.
The recommended wording for such a Local Rule is as follows:
" Tee Mats.
Where present, tee mats comprise the teeing area. When starting a hole from a tee mat the player must stand on and play a ball from the mat.
Penalty for Breach of Local Rule: Match play - Loss of hole; Stroke play - Two strokes."
